We call this oil leak the Alternator Killer. A very common oil leak from the upper front timing covers slowly soaks the alternator until it fails, and by the time you notice it, the damage is already done. We see this on your Mercedes M276 and M278 engines. A genuine Mercedes alternator runs about $1,500 just for the part, so we used the OE manufacturer “Valeo” for about half the cost, which is still an expensive repair that could have been avoided. If you have this leak, fix it early. #alternat